Darkness is Life in the OZ
by mace.ember.221
Summary: The Emerald calls to DG not Azkadellia. She embarks on a journey to find out who she really is and if she can fit into this world. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Aftermath

The witch was defeated. Go Good team.

If they saved the day, then shouldn't the princesses live a happily ever after? Was anything like a fairy tale? She was supposed to be a savior, not a princess. Be Harry Potter, not Cinderella. She didn't even like pink.

She liked motorcycles, fixing machines, leather jackets, using charcoal pencils and smudging with her fingers. She liked things that made you get dirty.

Azkadellia was the pretty princess. She was gentle and kind and all of those pretty things that DG wasn't. She was in danger of dying at the moment, but that can be fixed. She had the witch in her for ten years. The witch did a lot of taxing things to her body. But Az had a strong will. She could do it. She can make it. Azkadellia had a very weak will of everything else. At least Lavender eyes had a form of backbone. She let her body get turned over to the witch. She could have fought her but things don't work out. Especially in DG's life. Nothing can ever go right. It wasn't fair. Sometimes, DG felt like stamping her feel like a little girl and try and get her way. It wasn't fair that her mother cloaked her memories and didn't have enough magic to take it off and then try and make her feel bad because she can't remember anything.

She was stuck in a world that she couldn't remember and she was expected to be the princess of. She was constantly being watched by guards and Cain. Cain wasn't a guard. He got put in a special group for being especially annoying. Because he was.

Her parents embraced Azkadellia and shoved away DG in a sense. She didn't really like or remember her parents. Nor did she want to. She knows that sounds horrible but it's true. What kind of mother, or father for that matter, would send their child to another world, a more dangerous world, with people that the kid doesn't even know? She sure as hell wouldn't. She couldn't imagine sending her kid off to boarding school let alone ship them off to another dimension. It wasn't that Momster and Popsicle weren't capable of being parents, they were. But they never noticed anything. Like when the kids were picking on her for being different. They didn't notice. They also didn't notice when she started cutting herself in the tenth grade until her friends had an intervention. She stopped after that. That was the closest thing she ever did to compromising her health. She could have grown up right, knowing what happened around her and have familiarity with the world that surrounded her.

Some of those things might have been useful. But no. She was stuck in a world that she had no idea what the customs were. The animals, the people even the freaking life span of the people. She guessed it was longer than the Otherside because she could actually breathe in this world. The air was so polluted there, that it even made breathing taxing.

She just didn't understand what it was that she was supposed to do here. Was she supposed to be a princess? Or go back to the otherside? Some people might beg her to stay. Like Azkadellia, Glitch, Cain, Jeb and Raw. They would miss her. She didn't know hwy. She wasn't normal. She didn't say normal OZ things. She made tons of references to music, movies and books from the otherside. She was horrible to wake up in the morning. She wasn't fond of dresses but she could handle it just not the corsets.

She really should think of the after math of this battle.

The witch was defeated, killed and expelled from her sister's body. That was good. Azkadellia was healing and resting in the medical ward. Raw could go back to his home, wherever the viewer's claimed home. Glitch would stay and maybe get his brain back in his brain. Azkadellia would probably become Queen. Az doesn't want the crown or anything, but her mother wouldn't live forever.

Then there was Cain. He found out that his wife, Adora, was dead. She saw him looking at his ring in distraught after he found that out. He found his son, Jeb. Jeb was the leader of the Resistance against the Witch. She could see the pride radiating from Cain when he found that out. She also knew why he stuck by her for this long. He made a promise to the Mystic Man that he would look out for her. So there was another friend that was fake. She had Raw, Glitch and Azkadellia. She didn't know why Cain hadn't told her. Probably because she would have killed them. Metaphorically speaking. Or literally, that is quite possible.

She looked up into the sky, at the stars. At least one thing was the same over here as where she grew up. There were stars in the sky at night. The two suns thing was a little alarming. It wasn't the norm. But at least the stars were constant.

She sighed sadly. She was never going back to Kansas. She was never going to go to England like she wanted. She was never going to go finish her degree like she wanted. She was never going to learn French, like she had wanted to. She wasn't going to do anything besides get married and bear royal children. That wasn't what she wanted out of life. That definitely wasn't what she had in mind when she came over to the Outer Zone.

She met Glitch and decided to help them on their little journey. Then Glitch had gotten them lost and they found Cain. Cain seemed so surprised that she let him out of the suit. She honestly didn't know what the big deal was. She was a genuinely nice person, so she let the poor man out of the suit. He always made fun of her for charging into a scene with numerous LongCoats with only a long stick for protection. She now knew why Cain made such a big deal was. Long Coats = Witch. Witch= DANGER!! TURN BACK NOW!

She understood to an extent. So she got locked in a coffin, chased around by flying mobats, jumped off a cliff to avoid Papay's and fought a evil Witch for control over her own sister's body.

She smiled slightly at the memory of all of her and her friend's antics. They were going to be memories that she would hold onto forever. She knew that once she was recognized as a princess, she was going to have to eat, speak and act a certain way. And she'd rather die. She didn't like being told what to do. She liked to be independent. She was the strong type. She liked to just do what she did. Sort of float by.

Glitch always made her laugh, even in the most dire situations. Raw made her feel like she didn't have to hide anything. And Cain made her feel like he could protect her from anything. And Azkadellia made her feel like she had a family. What would she do without them? She had no idea what she was going to do here. She had no idea who she was.

She heard a rustling in back of her. She looked down and saw a sword laying at her feet. She fell to her ankles and turned. She narrowed her eyes. She saw what the rustling sound was.

Three longcoats. Damn it. Where was Cain when you need him? She grabbed the handle of the sword. Thank god she had taken Fencing and Archery in school. Now that she thought back on it, her parents had encouraged it to a ridiculous level. A longcoat approached. Well, no time to think about her parents now.

She stood up and held the sword in her hand. They withdrew theirs. One approached and flicked it to see her skill. She smirked. She won five state championships and four regionals. They had no idea who they were messing with. She crossed blades with him and he leapt back surprised at her skill. She drove it through his heart. How's that for skill? She shook in shock at what she did. She just killed someone. Oh god. She just killed someone. Well,maybe if…

This was no time for if's and maybe's. This was a time for action. These longcoats were the enemy. They needed to be defeated. The other two approached and she felt her heart speed up. She knew she was in a fight for her life. Goddamn it. Where the fuck was Cain?

She parried off their attacks, one stabbed her in the stomach. Pretty deep too. She sliced him and he fell to the ground in pain. Apparently he took a beating before. She turned on her heel and faced the second one. He smirked at her.

"Someone's bleeding. Pretty, pretty princesses, bleeding in a row." He sang tauntingly. She narrowed her eyes threateningly. She waited until he was done with his little taunt that didn't even really scare her at all.

"So says the LongCoat _Traitor." _She spat. "That had two of his comrades dead, bleeding on the ground by the little princess." She taunted. His eyes widened at the truth of her words. She threw her sword into a fight with his. It was ended by a sound of a shot.

She turned around and saw Cain with his gun smoking. He put it back in his holster.

"Hey there Princess."

"Where the hell were you?" She yelled. His smirk fell off his face as he faced her anger. He was surprised that she could actually yell at him. Everyone else was too scared that he would kill them. And he probably would. But only DG could get away with it.

"Tending to my wounded son." He said as if that would make her feel bad.

"Was it fatal?" She asked coolly, wiping her bloody sword on the dead Longcoats clothes.

"No." He said, narrowing his eyes at her actions.

"Well, while you were at the medical ward, guess who was up here defending herself without her bodyguard?"

"I wasn't."

"Thinking? Yeah, well no big deal. I just killed." She shrugged, throwing the blade across the roof as if it disgusted her. She wiped her hands on her jeans.

"What is wrong with you?"

"I need to sleep. Ever had any magic before, Mr. Cain?"

"No." He said curiously.

"It's a part of your soul. I just drained a part of my soul. Kinda like after fucking the whole night." His ears turned pink. Apparently he experienced that.

"Well, I need you to escort me to the medical ward. I am about to faint." She said and then fell forward and Cain caught her and swept her up in his arms.

He looked at the two dead bodies. He saw that she fought them tooth and nail. And with skill too. That was interesting. What exactly did she go through on the other side? What was going on in that head of hers? Well, he shrugged. He'd find out when she woke up.


	2. Health Emergencies

Cain walked down to the infirmary with DG in his arms. He took the time to take in her physical features. She had soft onyx hair that probably looked really shiny when it was taken care of right. She hadn't had a brush with her when she was traveling and he hadn't taken the time to think about her personal necessities at all. They hadn't even bathed. But they were on the run from a psychopathic witch who wanted DG dead.

She had the most beautiful eyes that shone whenever she did anything kind. They glittered when she was angry. And the color they turned when she cried, made him want to kill something.

Her pale skin was almost as white as his. He didn't get a lot of sun in the tin suit. Apparently she loved to be under a car, fixing it. He shook his head at what a car was. Horses were so much more manageable.

He knocked on the door that Azkadellia was residing in. Raw opened the door and smiled at Cain and looked at DG.

"Put Princess in other bed. Must tend to Az." He said and Cain set DG down in the bed carefully. He thought about what kind of person DG was. She was independent, could hold her own in an argument, went for the gold-never the silver and she was strong as hell.

Then he looked at the Queen and he really didn't understand where DG got it from. The Queen was delicate and dainty and everything that DG wasn't.

"Mr. Cain." The Queen said inclining her head respectfully.

"Your majesty." He said bowing.

"We need to discuss your future employment. I wanted to discuss this with you before your son so we can arrange you to be close to each other. I know how this war has tore your family apart." All he did was nod. But he had hidden rage for the Queen. She had plenty of chances to do something but he didn't. Adora was forced into a marriage with him by her father and had not stopped blaming Cain for it. He wasn't even sure that it was his son. But Jeb was his son in his soul. He grew up without a father and he was going to make sure that Jeb knew he had one now.

"I wish for you to be DG's bodyguard." The Queen said quietly. "Your son, Jed, is it?"

"Jeb,"

"Ah yes. He will be in charge of getting an army and training them. He has excellent military training for such a young man. I blame the witch for that." Cain looked at Azkadellia. She wasn't the witch. He could tell. She was paler than the witch and her hair had a purple sheen to it.

"I'll speak to my son about when he awakens. He has had a slight injury."

"I will pray to the suns for his recovery."

"Much obliged." He said taking off his hat. He almost forgot to take it off in a symbol of respect.

"It's no problem. Please look after my daughters. I'm sure they'll be awake by tomorrow." The Queen said in a nonchalant voice. Cain held back a scoff. Yeah, the Queen seemed real worried. She hooked arms with her husband and walked out.

Cain noticed that she didn't even acknowledge Raw's presence or the fact that he saved her daughter from death.

"Ungrateful little…" He muttered, sitting in the chair for a night of watch.

"Cain angry. At Queen?" He asked confused.

"Don't worry Fuzzy. I just think the Queen has a definite disregard for your health authority. You helped Azkadellia avoid death."

"Least for little while." He joked. Cain smirked.

"DG has been rubbing off on you." Raw let go of Azkadellia's hand and walked over the DG's bed.

"DG in pain. Emotional. Physical. Doesn't understand." He said closing his eyes and tilting his head back, with his hand on her forehead. "Stabbed in rib." He moved his hand to her midsection and healed the injured part of her there.

Cain berated himself for not noticing that she was injured and bleeding. He looked down and saw blood. Son of a… Man, he really needed to start paying attention. Maybe he should get some sleep. After DG wakes up of course. That obviously took precedence.

"Magic depleated from magic use. Defeat witch took a lot out of her. Residue left. Make DG angry."

"Yeah I saw it first hand. She was something else. I didn't think she could be that meaan."

"Took out of her soul." Raw moved back up to her head.

"You did?" Raw nodded. Cain thought hard. The witch must have after effects if she was defeated. That was very alarming. He wondered if the Queen had thought about this yet. Probably not. DG had probably thought more on that than the Queen had.

"Thank you." Cain said in gratitude. He wouldn't know what he would do if DG died. She made everything bright when they were running from the mobats, the Witch and for their lives.

"Body and mind shut down because of everything that happened." That was understandable. She was thrust into a dimension she didn't even rememeber or know that it existed and then told she had to kill this Witch that had taken over said dimension.

"Everything shut down?" Cain inquired.

"Yes. Needed for soul." A lot of things were needed for the soul, it seemed.

"Oh okay. When should she wake up?" He needed to know when to be ready to talk to her. It was crucial that they talked as soon as she awoke.

"Day or two. Should sleep. Much needed." Cain chuckled.

"Yeah I should. I need to visit Jeb."

"Go visit. I watch over Princesses. Need to talk about job with Queen." Raw said wisely.

"Good idea."

"Then Cain sleep."

"Fine."

"Feel better after." He advised. Raw could be so goddamned smart for his own good.

"Yeah, yeah." He rose out of the chair and went to the door, with the intent of going to the medical ward. "Would that stuff in her soul make her kill people?"

"Kill Longcoats?" Raw asked, fearfully.

"Two of them. She was close to the third, but I shot him."

"She need to. Very brave. Use sources. Make good Queen." Raw said calmly.

"who said anything about Queen?"

"Queen thought it about Azkadellia. Wants to marry off DG." Raw looked down in fear of Cain's eyes. They were blazing in rage.

He walked out of the room and slammed the door. Raw winced at the loudness off the slam. It was shaking the door frame. He walked over to the princess and picked up her hand, sifting through her nightmares. He was reassuring her in her mind, that it was in no way her fault what happened. He was nursing her mind, soul and body back to health. It was very taxing. He looked over at DG once in a while. She was going to be okay.

Raw smiled to himself at the obvious devotion between the two of them. The Princess and her tin man. They were a pair. And Azkadellia was going to be find as long as he helped keep the nightmares away tonight. He needed to reassure her mind that she was safe and the witch was gone, only then could she awaken from the dark and dismal parts of her ever pessimistic mind.

Once Raw thought that Azkadellia was safe from the clutches of everything evil, he left to go tend to the fatally wounded. Maybe he could save some more lives. He finally found his place in society- a healer for the royal family. He thought it was a great job and loved doing it. That and pushing people together who obviously belong to one another. It wasn't fair that he had to do everything. Well, he better go tend to the wounded.

On the bed stand in between Azkadellia and DG's bed, the Emerald laid forgotten. It pulses with dark power. It dimmed and shimmied across the table from where it laid in Azkadellia's reach. It moved to DG's side and shone brightly. It was where it belonged.


	3. Where Your Loyalties Lie

Azkadellia woke up and looked over at her sister sleeping. She winced as she sat up. She was glad to finally have that witch expelled from her body. She felt guilty about killing all those innocent people. She bit back a sob looking at Cain. She had lost him his wife and his son's childhood. And Zero had locked him in a metal suit. It wasn't fair that she did all this stuff and she didn't get any blame for it. She still felt incredibly guilty about everything that had happened up until this point.

DG rolled on her side and Az looked at the bedstand. She saw the Emerald. It was on DG's side of the bed. Az looked at it curiously. Interesting.

DG's eyes fluttered open. Blue orbs met dark purple.

"Hi Az."

"Hi, DG." Az said tearfully. She felt her eyes water up.

"What's wrong?"

"I killed you!" She wailed pitifully. DG sighed at the waterworks. What was it with girls and crying oceans of tears? Thank god she wasn't the normal girl. She might have killed herself if she cried like this all the time.

"No you didn't." DG said wincing at the pain in her ribs. Great! She fractured some ribs when that idiot put a sword through her skin.

DG sighed. Good thing that the Tin Man was out like a light. She needed to knock some sense into her sister.

"Azkadellia Isabella Gale." She said using her sister's full name. Az's eyes widened. "When we were little girls, we wandered further than we should have. I let go of your hand and we got separated. You got tricked by the witch and she took over your body. You were a little girl. How could you possibly fight her off?"

"You could have!" She pointed out. DG scoffed.

"I was younger than you were. What makes you think I could have defeated the Witch if she was in my body?" Az wouldn't answer. She refused to.

"DG? Why are you so optimistic?" Azkadellia asked quietly reflecting on all of her time being caged up and forced to do the Witch's bidding.

"Because I believe that everyone deserves a chance to prove their worth. Shit happens. You just gotta muck through it as best as you can." Azkadellia was stunned. She didn't believe that her sister could be so wise at such a young age. It stunned her.

Jeb was standing outside and listened in on the Princess' conversation. DG was quite the leader. She was putting her sister in her place. She had only been over in the OZ for a week. Jeb shook his head. This princess was something else. No wonder his father had to dedicate so much time to her. She's a job and a half.

DG looked at the Emerald and looked at Az.

"Why's it over here?" She asked curious. The longer she looked at it, the more it shone. Az frowned. Curious. Simply curious.

"I don't know." Az didn't understand why the emerald was going to DG instead of Azkadellia. It was bound to the witch, wasn't it? It should belong to her. But it was going to DG. Azkadellia didn't understand. Her sister made a lot of things happen that Az couldn't have done in a million years with an instruction manual.

Azkadellia got out of bed, wincing at the rub of leather on her sore body.

"You should change out of those clothes. The Witch had no fashion sense anyways. You should change into the clothes you used to wear before all of this started." Her sister said kindly to her. DG had a point. If she was going to win back the support of her people then she needed to start dressing the way she use to look before the Witch took over her body and soul.

"I should. I'll just take the Emerald and you can wake up your Tin Man." Azkadellia moved to grab the Emerald and it shone brightly, blinding her for a second. Az faltered. That was interesting. She wrapped her long fingers around it and winced at the feeling.

"I'll put this in my jewelry box for safe keeping." She said to her sister.

"He isn't mine!" her sister whined. Az smiled. Keep denying it, little sister. Her sister's black hair was glistening in the sunshine.

Az waved to her sister and walked out the door and walked briskly to her own room. She dropped the stone into her jewelry box. She looked at her hands. They were burned. They were pink and hurt like hell.

This wasn't good.

Cain opened his ice blue eyes and saw DG staring back at him. He jumped back. Well, as far as he could go. Which wasn't far, he was seated in the chair sitting against the wall near DG's bed.

"Haha." She laughed hysterically. "You should have seen your face." She giggled.

"Well, I am glad you had your laugh. " He retorted, not finding the situation funny at all. He placed his hat back on his head and leaned forward.

"I have. Thank you." He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"We need to talk, kiddo." He said in his serious voice.

"Oh no. The 'Tin Man I'm serious' voice. Greattt." She moaned, not looking forward to this little discussion.

"The Queen talked to me." She groaned again. "What?" He was confused. He didn't even start the story yet.

"'The Queen talked to me' is like the worst story starter ever. I am so sorry you were even in her presence."

"She's your mother." He said incredulously.

"So? Is that supposed to mean something?" She asked sarcastically. "You don't know what she did. I know what she did to Az before she was even possessed by the witch. "

"What did she do?"

"I can't tell you." He glared at her. She wouldn't talk.

"May I finish what I was saying?"

"Yes." She muttered begrudgingly.

"She offered my the position of your bodyguard and she wants Jeb to train the army."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"No, I mean why are you talking to me about this? Shouldn't you talk to your son and decide what is best for you, what you want and what you need? Don't you need to weigh your options before deciding that you want to spend your days with me and your nights with your son. Whom you have missed?" She said very honestly.

"I already talked to him." Jeb appeared in the doorway, from his hiding spot in the hallway.

"Well, she is certainly stubborn, Dad." Jeb said and laughed when he saw the Princess almost tear off her head in an effort to look at the person standing in her doorway.

"Hello Jeb. Decide to come out from hiding."

"Hi, Princess." He said. "And I wasn't hiding." She rolled her eyes. Jeb scoffed. How'd she even know anyways?

"Did you lose a significant percentage of your men in this battle?" She changed the subject. He immediately sobered.

"No. We lost some but most of the Resistance is still able and alive. Some cuts and bruises but they're mostly all alive. Probably five percent dead."

"That isn't bad considering the fact that the Witch wanted you all dead."

"Agreed, Princess." She nodded her head and turned back to her father.

"Why do you want to be here, Mr. Cain?" she asked, honestly curious.

"I like guarding you. You're definitely a challenge."

"Well are you staying because of that promise you made to the Mystic Man?" Cain's eyes widened in surprise. He wasn't expecting that. Then his eye hardened. Oh no. The Tin Man glare. Well, folks, let's see if DG can withstand the Tin Man artic glare! Jeb snickered to himself at the tension growing.

"Are you questioning my reasons?" He asked incredulously. Oh shit. This wasn't going to end well.

"Yes I am." Jeb whistled at the sudden tension in the room, chuckled and left his dad to defend himself against the princess. He walked out, thanking his father for giving him a reason to get away from the observant princess. She definitely wasn't what she thought she would be. He thought she would be a pretty princess and dainty but she wasn't. She was stubborn, independent and feisty. No wonder Dad liked her so much. He always loved a challenge.

"Mr. Cain. I've had to deal with so many lies. I don't want us to lie to one another." She looked deep into his eyes when explaining her reasons to why she was questioning his motives to by her personal bodyguard.

"Agreed." He said slowly, not really knowing where she was going with this. He sat back in his chair, where he was leaning forward. She shuffled back into the warmth of her blanket on the bed. She apparently had sense enough to get better so she wouldn't kill herself further.

"I want to know whether you want to be my bodyguard because of your promise to the Mystic Man and your damned sense of honor."

"No." He said almost insulted that she would think that.

"Then why?"

"You are the first real friend I have had." That made her stop for a minute. Then she raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"What?"

"My other real friend was Adrian Zero. We all see how well that worked out." She smiled slightly. Well, at least one of them got humor out of this situation, he thought cynically.

"Yeah." She said unsure.

"You came in an rescued me on Longcoats that you thought were attacking me with just a stick. You are the strongest, bravest person I have ever met in my life. I want to protect you, because you are my friend. Not because of some ridiculous promise or some honor." She smiled satisfied with her answer.

"Are you sure?"

"Princess, someone has to watch your back when you're saving the world." She smiled and sat back.

"I'll tell you why I am fed up with the Queen." Cain leaned forward and stood up and laid on the bed that Azkadellia laid on.

"Do you mind if I lay down?"

"No. Go ahead." He stretched out on the bed, groaning at the comfort of having something soft to sleep on. "The Queen sealed my memories with strong magic of the OZ when she shipped me off with my foster parents."

"Yeah. Does it hurt?"

"Finding out that the people who you thought were your parent were robots, programmed to love you and regressed your magic? Yeah it hurts really bad."

"Regressed your magic?"

"Think about it. Why didn't she send me to live with my uncle in the bordering kingdom to OZ. My mother didn't want me to have magic until she needed rescuing." She said closing her eyes.

"I never thought about it like that." Cain mused.

"No one else has either. That's why they still love the Queen. But you don't. I heard what she said to you. I am surprised you didn't clock her." She rolled on her side.

"'Clocked' her?"

"You poor deprived man. Punch her, give her a bruise…" She said giving his synonyms for the phrase.

"I can't hurt the Queen!" He said incredulously.

"Don't be a pansy about it!" she exclaimed. He looked at her oddly. She groaned. She needed to stop making Otherside references.


	4. Emerald

Cain opened his eyes and sat up, alert. He fell asleep. He looked at DG's sleeping figure on the bed next to him. Her chest rose and fell to the beat of her heart. Slow and rhythmic. It was hard to imagine this girl saving the entire OZ. But it was true.

This girl also managed to walk into a holographic projection of Zero and his goons beating Adora and Jeb over and over again for eight annuals with just a stick for protection against the longcoats. This girl was something else entirely. Maybe it was because she was from the otherside or maybe it was because she was really tough as nails. He even started to pick up some of DG's sayings like Oh my god, which he didn't understand. The Ozians didn't have gods. They prayed to the OZ itself and the sun. Why would you pray to a single person when you should pray to your environment? Your surroundings are the thing that provides for you. It gives you life.

And she said holy a lot. Like 'Holy shit.' And 'Holy mother of god.' Some of the things that came out of that girls mouth really made him scratch his head. Like who the hell was Beyonce? That was an odd name. She made a remark when they were traveling to the Mystic Man. 'This dress makes me look like I have Beyonce hips.' She sniggered after.

DG opened her blue eyes. She looked at the ceiling and he berated himself for not paying attention.

"Princess?"

"Yeah, Mr. Cain?" She asked.

"You wanna go back to your room?"  
"Not especially."

"why?"

"Mother is waiting to ambush me." She answered nonchalant

"I can't protect you from the Queen." He humored.

"Wish you could." She muttered.

Eventually after 10 minutes of boredom, DG got up, wincing.

"It still hurt?"

"I broke a couple ribs."

"Let me get Raw."

"No." She whispered. He stopped and looked at her. "Let them heal so I can actually feel the pain. Might make me stop being so much trouble." She smirked. He shook his head.

"You'll never stop being trouble even if you tried." She smiled and swung her legs over the bed and set them on the ground and grabbed Cain's arm and she stood up shakily.

"Well, at least you're honest." She smiled. He smirked back at her and placed a hand at her back and led her out of the room. She stumbled a couple times.

"What is wrong?"

"Stupid heels. I hate high heels."

"Well, we're almost there. Then you can sit down."

"Great." She muttered sarcastically. He tightened his grip on her back and helped her to her room.

When she was led there, the Queen was watiting for her, for once without her Prince Consort.

"Majesty." He bowed and gasped when DG elbowed him sharply and discreetly.

"May I speak with my daughter, _alone_?" She asked coolly. He nodded and backed out and stood guard at the door.

DG took in the Queen's appearances. She looked quite young. Maybe their life span was longer here. She wore a off white dress, with her shoulders bearing. She ahd her hair up in a bee's nest hair do. Apparently that was still in style over here, instead of being a sixties look over in the Otherside. Her lavender eyes shone with purpose.

"Dorothy." She inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"Mother." She curtsied. Lavender Eyes regarded her with a scrutinizing gaze. DG stood to her full height.

"Your sister's health is getting better." The Queen said gliding to the window. Jeez, she was as graceful as a gazelle. Maybe it came with being Queen. She hoped not. On the off chance that she was Queen, she couldn't glide like gazelle.

"That's good."

"The witch did some unfortunate things to our family's kingdom." She continued. _Unfortunate?!_ DG shook with silent rage. Unfortunate is when you lose a penny in the drain. What happened here over the last fifteen years was far beyond unfotunate. Hundreds of poele died under the witch's reign. The Queen had plenty of opportunities to help her country but elected not to. She chose to rely on her youngest daughter and her repressed magic. She felt her magic flare, but she tampered it down. She didn't want to explode on her. Although that would be gratifying, highly gratifying. She didn't want the Queen to know her magic potential. "We will have to go to Finaqua to await the completion of the rebuild of this castle."  
"They're rebuilding it?"

"Yes there were some major fatalities to the castle itself and I have arranged a six month rebuilding team to reside here. Alert your friends and your sister. We leave tomorrow." The Queen turned to her and regarded her. "Do you remember Finaqua?"

"No."

"Do you remember _anything_?" She said anything as if it was her fault that she couldn't remember anything.

"No." DG snapped. The Queen jumped slightly at the sudden out burst. "I have my memories sealed with magic. Do you want to remove the magic, Mother?"

"I have no magic." She said slowly, showing her hands to reveal a pale Gale symbol engraved in her hand.

"So I can't remember anything." DG said stubbornly.

"Well, you certainly haven't changed since you were a little girl." The Queen huffed. DG smirked internally. That means she had to have this backbone that she has when she was younger. Good. Maybe she put people in their place then.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes." Her mother said lazily.

"It's Azkadellia." Her mother sighed. DG glared at her. Her mother wilted a little under her daughter's heated glare.

"Enter." DG said not taking her heated eyes off her mother. Azkadellia walked in, dressed in a pale purple gown that looked so beautiful on her. It brought out her eyes. It was an off lavender color. Her mother glared at Az lightly. But luckily Az didn't notice. She was too busy looking at DG. DG smiled approvingly of the outfit her sister had donned on.

"I need to talk to DG." Azkadellia said timidly. This was how her sister was before the witch. Timid, sweet and nice. Delicate. DG had done more protecting against her sister than the other way around. Exxcept for the witch. That stupid bitch ruined everything that DG had ever set up for her sister. She was going to find Az the best suitor for her and she was going to be at her sister's side when she married him. Wait, she _remembered_?! She heard faint whispering. But she didn't have any time to contemplate the faint whispering as the tension grew higher in DG's bedroom. Then she heard a distinct, 'Didn't belong.' But she thought she was hearing things.

Her mother whipped around her eyes narrowing on her younger daughter. She bristled. Why do people automatically assume its her fault for everything?! It wasn't her fault that her sister wanted to talk to her. Maybe Mr. Cain is rubbing off on her. Rubbing off on the Queen. There was a mental image she reealllyyy didn't want. She mentally shook her head. _Dirty thoughts, dirty thoughts, dirty thoughts. _ She stared down her mother. When her mother looked down a party was going on in DG's head. _We won, we won, we won! WHOO! The Queen can't win a glare contest. DG is the undefeated champion!_ She wondered where all these thoughts came from. She was weird. The most random thoughts ran through her head at the worst times too.

Then the Queen left after no defence from DG.

"DG, something happened when the Witch took over my body. Do you remember it?" Azkadellia asked shyly. DG shook her head. She didn't remember anything from that day or anything. "This should help." Az placed the Emerald in DG's hands. DG gasped and backed up with the Emerald in her hands. She tilted her head back and images flashed through her hair. Her sister screaming for help and DG scared in a corner. The Emerald fighting to be released from the Witch. It didn't belong with her. The Emerald didn't belong to her. Didn't belong

"The Emerald didn't belong with the witch." DG said in awe.

"It doesn't belong with me either."

"Yes, it does, Az. It came to you." She remembered the night before. After they defeated the Witch, the Emerald soared through the air to where Az was standing and DG moved out of the way and it dropped into her sister's leather gloved hands. Her sister smiled sadly. She took off her gloves and tilted her palms for DG to see. They were red and burned. DG gasped stepping back.

"What is that?"

"The Emerald. It doesn't belong to me. I don't know why it's going to you, though."

"I do." Az was looking at DG interested. "When we were little girls, I struggled to find my light because it was so miniscule that I couldn't tap into it. You're the princess of the light, Az. I heard the witch, it's my fault that you were possessed, my fault that the whole kingdom is in ruins. I am the dark princess. The Emerald calls to me because my magic is dark." She said honestly.

"No, DG. You're wrong."

"When I was on the Otherside, I always drew in the night, I was always drawn to the stars. I liked darker colors and darker things than other people my age. It all fits."

_You didn't fit in with kids on the Otherside, Princess? _ The Emerald spoke to her for the first time. DG gasped and locked eyes with her sister.

"What?"  
"The Emerald spoke to me." Az gasped.

"That doesn't happen very often. Only to people who the Emerald is bound to by the Realm. The OZ bound you to the Emerald. It chose you. Oh my great Gale. This is huge! This happened since your namesake was Queen of the Oz."

"Oz?"

"That's what it was called before." Az shook her head and rubbed her hand all over her face in thought. "This complicates things." She locked eyes with her sister. "What did it say?"

"It said 'You didn't fit in with kids on the Otherside, Princess?' Is that a weird question for an Emerald to ask?" DG was confused.

"Emeralds don't talk, Deeg. They don't do anything. This Emerald's magic is connected to the OZ. That's why the witch was able to get power so quickly. Own the Emerald and you own the OZ. The Witch wanted to own it but could never tap into the Emerald's magic. It wouldn't allow it. She was so frustrated with it, she blew up the west tower." Az smiled in memory. "It felt good for the witch not to get her way." DG smiled half-heartedly. She looked at the Emerald. It pulsed green magic. It throbbed with power. What was she supposed to do with it? She couldn't rule.

_You can rule. I will help you. Things have gone sour in the Realm. You must fix it. _The emerald spoke.

"What am I supposed to do?"

_We'll start by going to Finaqua. Your mother will leave you alone, for the most part. She left you alone most of the time when you were a child, that shouldn't change now. _ DG squeezed the Emerald in acceptance. It pulsed a couple times and then dimmed. Guess it was done talking.

"You weren't talking to me, were you?" Az's voice broke through DG's concentration and thinking spell.  
"Sorry. The Emerald was talking to me." Azkadellia smiled.

"It belongs to you. I know it. Your magic will increase with the Emerald. You have such a higher purpose than just to rescue your sister from an evil Witch's possession." Az joked.

"Maybe." DG agreed halfheartedly.

"You do have a higher purpose. You need to heal your people. They will need to heal after the witch's take over. It wasn't fair to them." Az said sadly.

"It wasn't your fault, Azkadellia." DG said convincingly.

"It wasn't my fault if it wasn't your fault." Az blackmailed.

"That's not fair!" DG stomped her foot. Az laughed. DG smiled lightly. She liked Az laughing. It was like a ringing bell, just not as annoying. She had a sparkling smiled and a beautiful laugh. DG was thankful her sister was still herself. She was almost afraid that she would have changed for the worse.

But she didn't. She was still the Azkadellia she remembered. Helping her get into trouble and practicing her magic with. Her never ending patience with her lack of skill in the magic field. DG looked at the Emerald. It made sense now. She had control of dark magic, not light. She shouldn't try and use her light, she should try and use her dark. She'll have to keep that in mind in her future lessons with Toto, her tutor. He preferred to be called, Tutor.

Guess he doesn't like to be named after Dorothy's dog. Go figure.


	5. Conversations

Azkadellia left after seeing the Emerald with its rightful owner. She smiled at her sister's fascination with the stone. DG liked being needed, she could tell. She liked being the powerful one. She liked ordering people around. She would be a great Queen. Az smiled at the ever-vigilant Cain as she walked back to her room, a huge burden lifted off her heart as she did so. He tipped his hat in response.

DG was laying on her stomach, with the Emerald in front of her and a pencil behind her ear and a drawing pad near her. She took the pencil and started drawing the Emerald, getting all of it's angles. She tilted her head, getting all of the views. She finished the drawing and used her fingers to smudge the lines to make it look more rugged and realistic. She leaned back and admired her work. It was a keeper. She smiled, feeling very accomplished.

Then it pulsed green and turned brighter.

"You hurt my sister, you know." She scolded at the inanimate object, shaking her pencil at it as if one would scold a child that's done wrong.

_We were confused. We apologize. _

"Who is this we business?"

_The Outer Zone. We are connected and thus you are._

"I'm connected to the OZ?"

By Magic. Even without the OZ's elemental magic, you could be a very powerful mage and Queen. There are things that you can do that no one else can. The Emerald said very royally.

"I have dark magic. I don't have light at all."

The Outer Zone doesn't need light. It needs power. You have the power it needs to repair its people and the land.

"What am I supposed to do? I am only a princess."

You can do things quite easily. You have a Tin Man, a Royal Advisor, Light Mage and a Viewer at your disposal. And that's just starting out. You know they would do anything for you. They are in your debt, whether you know it or not. You look out for them.

"Of course I would."

The Witch controlled us. But we gave no magic to her. The one who defeated her is granted some magic. But we have information that plagues your dreams.

"My dreams? How would you know my dreams?" She asked confused.

We have known all about you since you were born. We know that you heard the witch and brought darkness upon the OZ.

"Hey! It was an accident."

No one blames you, especially us. You were five annuals. How could you have known? You always were a curious child. But we know a lot about magic. You will be tutored by us and your dog.

"Toto?"

Yes. He is knowledgeable, I suppose. DG laughed. The Emerald had a sense of humor and was sarcastic. What is so funny? The Emerald seemed confused.

"I never thought that you would have a sense of humor or that you would be sarcastic." DG giggled to herself at the thought.

Well, I have been assigned to be the spirit in this emerald for a reason. I would be able to connect on a level with you that the others couldn't. They're stuffy and some are prissy. DG smiled.

"What's your real name?"

When I lived, my name was Arabelle. People called me Aria. You can if you feel the need to call me something other than the Emerald.

"You have a pretty name."

Thank you. You must get tired of being called DG all the time.

"Not really. It's better than being called DorothyGale. My parents weren't really thinking when they named me. I don't get it. I hate my real name." She rolled her eyes at the thought.

I can only imagine. So tell me of the Otherside. We must get to know each other so we can communicate as best as possible.

"Okay. Well, when I lived on the Otherside, I lived on a farm. It's this huge piece of land and we had a pretty big house. I lived in the attic, which is the top floor. It was the biggest room in the house. I moved in there when I was 13. I had an adopted sister who lived in the other half of the floor. My parents divided the attic in half, with separate staircases and walls separating us."

You had a sister? I thought Azkadellia was your only sibling?

"She is. When my Robo-parents came over, a little girl came with them. She was two years younger than me." She smiled sadly at the thought.

Something happened to her.

"Yeah. She died of brain cancer." DG's eyes watered up at the thought. Although the Emerald didn't know what a 'brain cancer' was and decided not to ask. "We have these boxes and they are called televisions and you can watch all sorts of plays, movies and other productions on there. Its so cool."

Interesting. They have movie stars there?

"Yes. Huge award shows and they have music awards for music stars."

They have music?

"Of course. Every place has music. They have rock, pop, classical, everything." She sighed.

These terms are foreign to me. The Emerald replied.

"Well, you know waltz music and the music at balls and other big parties?"

Yes.

"That's considered classical. I can play a lot of instruments, you know."

Really? That's interesting. We have piano, violin, guitar, flute. We found those from the Otherside.

"Yeah I can play all of those. But I'll need music for it."

We have some ancient Otherside music sheets. Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky.

"Wow. Cool." DG said excitedly. She could already see herself playing the instruments in her mind.

Then there was a knock at the door and she froze, the smile dropping from her face. She pulled a pillow over the Emerald and perched herself on it, so she wasn't crushing the emerald, but so it looked natural. Not that the Emerald had any nerves anyways. It couldn't feel anything. But she posed with her pencil to the paper, making finishing touches on the drawing.

"Enter." DG said steadily, all traces of her previous panic gone. A maid entered the room and went to the bed and curtsied to the princess. DG sat up higher and nodded.

"The Queen has sent me with a message. That you are to be moved to a suite in the center of the castle. You will pack and meet Mr. Cain in the main foyer so he can guide you to your new room. You will be living with Mr. Cain for the day." The maid finished. DG sighed.

"Fine." The maid curtsied and left.

This is a problem because?

"We just reached an agreement. I didn't want to see him for the rest of the day."

Because of what happened on the roof?

"I heard what he said to Raw. He feels disappointed in me that I killed someone and not felt bad about it. But I did feel bad about it. I felt absolutely horrible about it." She shook her head and uncovered the Emerald. "Guess we're going on a road trip across the castle." She said unexcited.

Yay? DG giggled at the sarcasm of the green gem. Then DG sobered and looked for a trunk. Apparently they didn't have suitcases here or duffel bags. She lifted the trunk on her bed with a huff. The Emerald bounced up and down at the sudden weight on the bed.

Whoa. The gem said in surprise at the sudden motion.

"Sorry." She apologized. She swung open the closet and took out the thin dresses. The bulky dresses were a hassle and she didn't even like them that much. She looked at the ballerina shoes that were laying at the bottom of her closet and tossed them into her trunk. What the hell? She was a fucking princess. She was allowed to have a clothing fetish. She threw her jeans, shirts and her favorite leather jacket. She threw in some sneakers that she acquired. She went over to her small library and made a couple trips, putting books into her trunk. Then she walked over to her art table and gathered all her pencils and put them in a pouch and put her art in a folder and gathered up her art pads and placed them delicately in the trunk above her books. Then she grabbed the scarves she had and placed them in there. She grabbed her jewelry boxes and put them in there and closed the trunk. She picked up the emerald and breathed on it and rubbed the air off of it. It sparkled.

Thank you.

"No problem." DG smiled at the pretty, sparkling Emerald. "CAIN!" She shouted. He opened the door.

"Yes, Princess?" He asked exasperated. Apparently he didn't like being called like a dog.

"Did I yell too loud?"

"Of course not." He said sarcastically.

"Oy! Not allowed to use Sarcasm!"

"Who said?" Tin Man said leaning against the closed door and crossing his arms across his chest. DG rolled her eyes and didn't respond to his jab.

"Bring this to the room we're sharing."

"WHAT?!" He exclaimed. She tilted her head back and let out a groan. Wow, her mother really needed to clear stuff with her bodyguard before letting her know. This was just pushing her over the edge, stress-wise. She let out a low scream and tin Man grabbed her by the shoulder and looked into her eyes. Her eyes watered up. "Hey, Princess. Just tell me what you were told." She nodded.

"The maid that just came into my room," She paused. At his nod, she continued. "Well, she told me that my Mother wanted me to move out of this room and into one of the main suites and she wanted you to stay with me, I guess. So I packed." She said motioning to the trunk.

"Okay, kid. How'd you get it on the bed? Magic?"

"No, I lifted it." She said in an obvious voice.

"You did what now?"

"I lifted it on the bed?" She asked confused.

"How heavy was it?"

"I dunno. Like 50 pounds."  
"Great Gale! You're a princess. Act like it." She bristled.

"Excuse me! I am used to doing chores. I grew up in Kansas. I didn't even know I was a princess so shut up and bring my trunk to my room. I will be there shortly." He growled lowly at her. She rolled her eyes. She pointed to the trunk. He picked it up with ease. She rolled her eyes. She didn't see what the big deal was but whatever she had other things to think about. He was about to walk out the door when he stopped and said smething to her.

"I'll come back and get you."

"Okay. Shoo," She made a shoo'ing motion at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"What you got in this thing, bricks?"

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes good naturedly. He smirked at her and left.

You two get along well.

"We fight all the time."

You're honest with each other. We need to speak on your magic. You can do awesome or terrible things. You can heal if you wish.

"I could heal?" The wheels in her head were turning. "Even brain replacements?" She asked doubtfully.

You mean the Royal Advisor. Yes, you could heal him. Replace his brain. He could help you a lot on matter of grave importance.

She could heal Glitch. She could replace his brain. She could make him not Glitch anymore. He probably knew as much as her parents about the kingdom but also knew where maps were and magic books and book that had information that she could actually use for ruling a kingdom. He could be of more use with his brain even if she lost the person she knew and loved now. She could save lives with this apparent power of hers.

Holy shit. She could heal people. Like Raw could.


	6. Brain

DG was still staring off at some random spot in the wall when Cain came back.

"Princess?" When he got no answer, he stood in front of her and he grabbed her arms and shook her. She locked eyes with him. She looked at him oddly.

"Why are you manhandling the merchandise?" She asked teasingly.

"We need to talk." He said seriously. She snorted.

"Yeah, okay." He grabbed her upperarm.

"I am serious, Princess. We need to talk about what happened on the roof and why you've been avoiding me." Her eyes widened. "Yeah I've noticed. I also noticed the Emerald is now in your room. Did Az leave it here or something?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"It's mine. I heard the witch. I have dark magic. The Emerald is mine."

"You..your…It's yours?"

"Yes." She nodded the affirmative. He looked at the Emerald.

"Protector." It voiced. Cain and DG jumped in surprise. It could talk. Out loud. As in not in the brain. She looked at it oddly.

"What?"

"Wyatt Cain protect Princess." DG and Cain exchanged looks.

"Yes, I do." He said slowly, as if confused.

"It's your official job." Aria's voice boomed. It dawned on DG what Aria was telling Cain.

"She means that the OZ has made it your official job to protect me when I am doing whatever I am doing." She turned to the emerald laying on her bed. "Which is what exactly?"

"Heal the OZ." She said in an exasperated tone.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Then the Emerald dimmed and stopped talking.

"Princess, we have to go." He held her arm after she got the Emerald. He then guided her to the room that they were staying in.

"Did you get the whole misunderstanding thing straightened out?" DG asked. Cain rolled his eyes.

"You aren't getting out of this conversation that easily." DG huffed. She really didn't want to have this conversation. He pushed her into the room and she gasped and tried to back out. It was really small. Like really tiny. "What is wrong with you?"

"No. Just let me out. There isn't even any freaking windows!" she pushed on him. He tightened his grip on her. Her face was against his chest and her body was aligned with his in the tightest way. He looked at her oddly. She was shaking slightly and she couldn't stop. Tears filled her eyes and Cain felt a moisture on his chest. She was crying. He hated crying women. Made him feel all bad inside. Especially a woman like DG, she was the strong, silent type.

"What happened?" she sniffled pathetically, in her own opinion. But Cain didn't comment on it.

"When I was taken from Ahamo, the Witch came and locked me in a coffin. I was left there for two hours. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't think. It happened before but I thought I had gotten over it."

"What happened before?" He asked, combing her hair with his fingers soothingly. He knew what was wrong. She was claustrophobic, he was a little claustrophobic sometimes but most of the time he wasn't. He was in a tin suit. He could see and he knew that she he could breathe and wouldn't die of lack of air.

"When I was about thirteen, I got locked in a closet. I was finding a game for me and my sister to play and I got locked in for about four hours." She shuddered in memory. "It was horrible. It was pitch black and my sister was really sick and she couldn't get out of bed. Allie was so angry that our parents couldn't hear her." She stopped and pushed away from cain's chest.

"We still need to talk Princess." DG sighed.

"Fine."

"Why have you been avoiding me since we defeated the Witch?"

"I haven't I have been sleeping. I was kind of injured, you know?"

"I know!" He snapped. She flinched back and stepped back a step, to put some distance between them. She always knew that Cain had a short fuse, but he was always so patient with her and he never snapped at her. Cain's eyes softened dramatically and he stepped forward and then DG stepped back a step. Cain froze. She was afraid of him now. "I'm sorry I snapped, DG." She looked at him warily. "I wont do it again."

"How do I know that? You aren't going to like what I tell you." Cain sighed. He probably wouldn't.

"Okay. I'll try though." She took a hesitant step forward.

"I heard what you said to Raw. About having the after shock of killing the witch in my soul made me some kind of heartless killer. What you seem to forget is that those men imprisoned my mother, Glitch, and my sister. They forced my mother, indirectly, to make me forget everything. They are bad people. It's okay to have a resisitance but not to that effect,"

"I don't think you're a heartless killer." He retorted half-heartedly.

"Don't insult me." She said coolly. "I know what you said. I was awake. I know that you think just because I killed those men and didn't feel anything after that I changed somehow."

"I didn't---"

"And then! You left me with my mother and bowed out like some sort of dog that did her bidding." Cain grabbed her upper arms roughly and shook her once.

"I am no one's dog."

"Well get some backbone then!" She yelled at him. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to be in the same room as her and _not _rip her throat out? Any idea at all?" She asked looking deeply in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh. What is crazy, oddball Princess DG talking about. Well when she came in my room she told me that it was unfortunate what the witch did to the OZ and that we were leaving to Finaqua."

"Unfortunate?"

"Yes, fucking unfortunate! The Papay field are in ruins, the Ice Palace needs to be rebuild, the place needs to be remodeled, Finaqua need to be rebuild by me when we get there. And hundreds of people have died. That's a crisis, its not fucking unfortunate!" She yelled seething.

"She said that? That it was unfortunate?" Cain asked in disbelief.

"Yes. It's unfortunate that Jeb had no childhood, that you got locked in a tin suit, that you lost Adora, that I lost all of my memories, that Azkadellia got possessed, that Glitch lost his brain, everything. Do you understand why I don't like her at all?" She threw up her hands in disgust.

"I understand perfectly." He said seething. He was now angry with the Queen.

"Good." She folded her arms and plopped down on the couch that was near her.

"Well, anything else you'd like to get off your chest?" She glared at him without any real malice behind it. "I don't think you're a homicidal maniac, kid." She looked off in another direction, effectively giving him the cold shoulder. "It just didn't seem like you to kill. Guess I like you being all wide-eyed and innocent. It wasn't anything you did. I just didn't want to think that you could be evil." He finished off lamely.

"So killing the enemy makes me a witch replica, then huh?"

"I didn't mean that!" He yelled. She winced. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, whatever, tin Man. I wouldn't have had to kill anyone if you were there." Cain froze. There it was. The real reason. She felt betrayed again. And this time it was his fault. First she had been lied to for 15 annuals by her foster parents and then her mother shows up and decides to make her a princess. She got lied to so many time that she didn't know who to trust. So she trusted Glitch, Raw and Cain with all of her heart and soul. And then when she was in danger, the one person that could help her didn't. cain wasn't there. He knew why she was so untrusting when he told her he was going to be her bodyguard. He wasn't there when she was going to die until the last moment. He understood now.

"DG, I was checking on my son."

"I was up there for four hours."

"_Four _hours?"

"Were you in the infirmary for four hours checking on your son who wasn't fatally wounded at all?"

"No."

"Where were you then?" He tried to remember. Oh that's right. He found some old buddies of his and they were reminiscing.

"I was…."  
"You found some friends and were remembering the good olde days." He looked down guiltily. "I trust you still, Cain. Just not completely. I was lucky they only had swords and not guns." Cain felt bad immediately. She was injured because of him. Well, that girl had ways of doing stuff no one else had that he had ever known in his entire life. Not even Adora could make him feel bad, about anything. Ozma knows he loved her but she could never just look at him and make him feel bad.

But all DG had to do was look at him with those big blue eyes and he was immediately overcome with such emotion that he felt bad instantly. If she looked at him with those tear filled eyes, she could make him do anything. It wasn't fair at all.

"Well, the Emerald said I could heal Glitch and put his brain back into his head if I wanted to. I think I am going to. What do you think? "

"I am really not the one you should be asking, Princess." She nodded satisfied with his answer.

"Yeah, I should ask Glitch." She mused, thinking to herself. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. DG froze, her muscles tightening up in alarm, her head turning to look at the door. Cain whipped out his six shooter and cocked in preparation. He aimed it at the door and waited. He nodded to DG.

"Come in." The door opened and Glitch popped in, carefree as a bird. He saw Cain and his gun and put his hands up.

"I surrender!" He said in fear. DG couldn't take it anymore. She cracked up laughing. Glitch looked at the laughing girl and smiled. Cain groaned.

"One of these days, Headcase. One of these days, you're just going to do something and I will shoot you." Glitch grinned at him and got a little twitch of the lips from Cain in return. Well, that was as close as a smile as he would get. The only person that could make Cain smile was DG, his princess. He wasn't surprised that they were sharing a room.

"Glitch, I wanted to talk to you. Sit down." DG said motioning to a seat while Cain sat next to DG. He plopped down unceremoniously. "I was thinking about the extent of my magic and I consulted the magical emerald and…"  
"The Emerald? You stole it from your sister? AZKADELLIA!!!" He shouted suddenly. DG rose out of her seat and shook Glitch twice. He calmed down.

"Glitch, I am going to tell you something important. Azkadellia handed over the Emerald to the rightful owner. Okay, I am the person that the Emerald chose to own it. The Emerald called to me but the witch got it instead, alright?" At his nod, she continued. "The Emerald said that I have healing abilities. I can put your brain back in your head, Glitch, okay?"

"You can?" He asked terrifyingly wishful. He really didn't want her to say 'Just kidding.' after that statement. He got his hopes up for real this time, he trusted DG. She apparently knew what he was thinking.

"Glitch, you are my friend. I wouldn't joke around with something like that. I will heal you just not right now. When we get to Finaqua. I'll have to remodel it myself but after I get my magic back, I'll heal you. Okay?" He nodded happily. She was going to heal him. He was so happy.

"Thanks, Doll. Raw helped me talk to my brain and I am quite fancinating. I know a lot of stuff. Useful stuff."

"I know. I want you to be my information go-to guy. And for that I need your brain in your head."

"You need me? I haven't heard that in a very long time."

"Congratulations, Ambrose. You're my Royal Advisor." Glitch flashed a 100-watt grin at the young princess.

"You've given me so much more hope than I could ever dream for. But my brain keeps mentioning this Belle. Isabelle. Do you know her?"

"No, I don't remember anything from the OZ other than what I have learned already. Once you get your brain abck, I am sure you'll remember."

"Even I heard about you, Headcase. In your glory days." Glitch gasped.

"Really, Cain?"

"Yes. Really." He smiled broadly.

He was well known even to the commoners.

"I heard that." Oops. He must have said that outloud.

"Yeah you did." Cain said angrily.

"Gotta go. Thank a million, Doll. I'll tell Raw!"  
"Okay, bye!" DG laughed at Glitch's antics. He was petrified of the Tin Man's anger. Although, who wouldn't be?


	7. Losses

Chapter 7

DG shook her head at Cain who was still smiling.

"You like people fearing you?"

"Well the ones that matter aren't scared of me, so yeah. I'm okay with it." She shook her head and smiled. She spotted her trunk at the end of the large bed that they had to share. It was a gift from Azkadellia, she had it made specifically for her. It was a black with intricate pattern of all colors. It had a latch on it and could hold a lot in account for its size.

She walked over to it after eyeing it for a minute or two, while Cain was looking at her oddly. But she was used to that. She dug around in her chest for her drawing pad and a pencil, she found it and placed it on the bed. She laid on the bed and started drawing. After ten minutes, Cain walked over and tried to see what she was drawing. He tilted his head and saw the beginning sketches of a building.

"What is it?"

"Finaqua. It was destroyed during the Witch's rein. Mother wants me to rebuild it." DG replied nonchalantly. Cain rolled his eyes.

"Of course you have to rebuild it. Why can't any one else do anything?"

"Because they can't get it done in thirty seconds." She said not lifting her pencil from the paper, she was shading in the walls. She stilled her pencil and raised her eyes to see Cain open his mouth to reply and then DG raised an eyebrow at him. Then he closed his mouth and agreed begrudgingly. "There you go. We are going to Finaqua while they remodel the castle here."

"Why can't you do it?" He asked skeptically.

"Because I have no memories of this place. I can't remove the dark magic that rests in these walls because I have dark magic. It has to be a Light Mage. And mother doesn't trust me enough to do her precious castle."

"Doesn't trust you?"

"Yeah. She doesn't even like Finaqua that much."

"But it's a fortress. It has an inescapable maze. The only reason the Witch got through was because she had Azkadellia's memories."

"Yeah, I don't know her Majesty's reasons. And I don't care. It's my job. We are riding ahead of everyone so we have to leave at dawn."

"We need to ride ahead of everyone because why exactly?"

"Because I need to rebuild it and Mother wants to arrive with the rest of our guests with it done. She's the freaking Queen. She wants it done when she gets there."

"You're the freaking princess. You shouldn't have to do any of this."

"Well I do. And I don't have a problem with this. So you shouldn't either." He rolled his eyes. "Besides this is easier than manual labor."

"You did manual labor?"

"Yes. Otherwise, how else was I supposed to get money? Poof it out of thin air?"

"No. You were supposed to magic anything that you wanted." He concentrated on a memory. "I remember when you were sent off. It was a few days before I got locked in the suit. I was 27." Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I thought you were older."

"My skin aged but my organs didn't. The healers said I have the body of a 28 year old."

"Wow." She said in awe. She poked his face.

"What are you doing, Princess?"

"You look older."

"I always have. I get it from my father. Hopefully I don't get gray hair in my fifties."

"Well, time will tell." She said teasing him. His eyes narrowed at her. She just smiled cheekily. "Well, at any rate. My parents programmed my nurture units to regress my magic."

"Why would they do that?" He asked running a hand through his short blonde hair.

"So that I would blindly trust my real parents." She said offhandedly, concentrating on drawing the new Finaqua. He looked at her oddly. "Its like a game, you know?" She looked at him. "It's like Poker. You need to seem like your genuinely sad about your dealt hand but in actuality you have a straight flush. Do you get it?"

"Not at all." DG sighed.

"It's all about deceit and false pretenses. Mother wanted me to blindly trust her so she could tap into the OZ's elemental magic. She programmed the nurture units to get me involved in other stuff so I wouldn't concentrate on my natural magic. But I did anyways. I kept having these really weird dreams. With these two twirling little dolls. They were Az and my dolls that we spun around in the air when we were little. Allison, my adoptive sister, knew about the OZ and told me about it when she could."

"You talk about Allison a lot. Who was she?"

"She lived here, she was about 5 when she came over to the Otherside. She was my little sister. About four years-annuals or whatever- ago, she started having really bad headaches and stuff. So I took her to the hospital in Dad's truck. He was fixing the turbines on the property."

"Turbines? Truck?"

"Sorry. Turbines are these huge pinwheels that generate wind into energy and stuff. Its highly complicated and I never really cared. I know how to fix em and that's it. And trucks are motorized carriages that we have. They're pretty cool."

"Oh."

"Yeah so I brought her to the doctor's and she got a Cat scan, some x-rays and a MRI."

"What?"

"They have these machines that you can look at the bones and see what is wrong."

"Did they find out what was wrong?" DG bit her lip. She looked down at her left hand and held up her hand. On her pointer finger, there was a small silver band with a sapphire stone in the center.

"We got the results back and it turns out she had a tumor in her brain."

"She had cancer?" That was really rare in the OZ.

"If she lived here, it wouldn't have killed her. The air quality or something keeps it from reacting. But over on the otherside, the air quality is really bad. We have pollution everywhere."

"Yeah."

"She died 18 months ago. We got her the best treatment we could but she refused saying she wanted to die with one of my pictures in her hand, laying in my bed like she always does when she is sick." DG started sobbing. "She did die like that, in my arms. It was horrible. Momster started crying and Popsicle went out and worked on the truck. I just sat there numb for a couple days. First I called the funeral home. We had a small funeral and it cost a lot of money. I started working as a waitress." She stopped crying and just had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Momster and Popsicle didn't want me to work saying that I was too young and all this stuff. But I had to work, my parents only brought in so much money. We had debts and stuff and we were going to have to get a really small house and now I know why they couldn't. A princess needs the best. They grieved for a day, that's what their programming was. I cried every night for months. It took me a long time. Then I had planned a trip to England. Allie always wanted to see the English terrain. It was her dream. She never got it but she got pictures of it from friends and I drew it for her. She was surrounded by those pictures when she died."

"I had no idea." Cain finally said after she stopped.

"Yeah. My life hasn't been sunshine and roses either. Not as bad as the OZ's life, but yeah."

"You suffered all this time because of your parents."

"Yeah. But you can't tell anyone. If this got out, there would be an uprising and although I plan to take over the kingdom…I have to heal the OZ without having a kingdom on my shoulders. Promise?"

"I promise." Cain whispered.

"Thanks, Cain. I have never told anyone about that. It helps to talk about it."

"Well, I should return the favor." He said winking at her. She smiled weakly. She signed her name at the bottom of the page, her drawing of Finaqua finished.

"That's beautiful, Princess."

"Thanks. Apparently I got Ahamo's gift for drawing."

"Apparently." He laid on his back and she leaned her cheek on her hand and listened to what he had to say. "Well when I was 24, there was this woman who moved into our town. Her name was Adora. She was beautiful. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was 28 and with a son."

"Jeb isn't yours?"

"No he's not. But I love him like one. His mother wasn't exactly faithful." Her eyes softened from the curious expression that she had on a second ago. "Her father accompanied her and I was head of the Tin Man of my time. Her father selected me and I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her. He arranged a marriage between us." He closed his eyes. "I cared for Jeb as if he were my own. He always called me Dad. He was 7 when I married Adora. I was always faithful, didn't even think of another woman ever. We were married for four years when I came home and found Zero leaving my house. I didn't say anything but I knew that something had happened. Later that night, Adora told me why Zero was here. The father of Jeb, Zero, had warned her the Sorceress was coming after me and to leave. I told her to leave and get away with Jeb. She claimed some sort of love but I could smell Zero all over her. She told me she was pregnant with his child." DG gasped. "Apparently while Zero was skipping out on his Tin Man duties he had been sneaking around with my wife and helping the Sorceress gain power. She didn't leave when I told her to and Jeb and Adora ended up getting beat up by Zero and his goons." He smiled sadly. "Apparently, Adora had a miscarriage from one too many punches to the abdomen and Zero killed the man who did that. She died from lack of nutrients to get her body back into health. Zero never found that out, his men told him she killed herself and they set it up like that. Jeb ran and found a Resistance camp and he grew up like that. He was ten when the Longcoats came."

"I am so sorry, Cain."

"It's okay. Two hours ago, Zero found out the truth behind Adora's death and killed himself. We always fought over everything. But I married his lover and he didn't because her father didn't approve of them. I hate to think how Jeb would have turned out if her father did accept them."

"Sounds like both our lives suck." He laughed. "It's better to laugh at it than cry about it. That's what Allie always told me."

"She sounds smart."

"She was." She laced her fingers with Cain's and gave them a squeeze. "Everything turned out alright in the end. Your son is a revered military leader with his life still intact. We're alive and I'm going to rule the OZ." He smiled.

"You do manage to see the bright side in any situation, don't you Princess?"

"Always." She flipped on her back. "Want to see a picture of her? I drew it."

"Sure." He said rolling on his stomach, he crossed his arms and rested his head on his muscular forearm. He heard her digging through her trunk and then an 'AHA! There you are you little fuc—'

"No swearing, Princess." He scolded, raising his head and locked eyes with her.

"Fine." She replied begrudgingly. He smiled.

"Here. This is Allison, my sister." She handed him the drawing. It was beautifully done. It looked like a real image. She used actual color on this one. "I used watercolor paint on it and sealed it and colored that with a colored pencil to give it more realism." She said shyly. He had no idea what she just said but it looked really realistic, like an image.

"You're really talented." She smiled at him. A real, genuine smile.

"Thank you." She was really proud of her works of art.

"She's beautiful."

"She was." DG looked at her sister sadly. "She loved life too. She wanted to see oceans, mountains, the Great Pyramids. She had so much fight in her. She lasted a year more than they thought she would. But it was inevitable. No matter how much spirit she had, that.." Her breath caught and she fought back a sob. "That the tumor was getting larger and setting into her brain and killing her. I could see her fighting just to keep up a conversation with me. She told me a lot of stuff about the OZ, stuff that she could remember. Stuff about Emerald City and the people, the custom…But she always said that I was the most stubborn person she'd ever met." Cain stood up next to her and wiped a tear from her cheek. He grabbed her hand and tugged her to him.

He wrapped his arms around her and she tucked her head under his chin. He held her as she collapsed in sobs.

"It's okay. Have you mourned her at all?"

"No." She sniffled.

"It's okay to cry. Makes you human." She nodded and cried. He mourned with her. He did love Adora, even if she didn't feel the same. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought of his beautiful wife in pain. He did after all, take a vow that he would always protect her. She must have hated him until her death.


	8. Soul Bind

Cain watched DG sleep on his chest and smiled at her. Yeah, he was attracted to the young princess but that didn't mean anything. They were seven years apart. And her mother was a pretty vindictive bitch when she wanted to be, so if her daughter seeked permission to get married to the one that she loved, he was pretty sure she'd say no.

DG shifted in his arm and Cain smiled, slowly drifting off to sleep. And on a table in the sitting part of the room, the emerald flashed twice and dimmed.

"Aria." A voice boomed. It was the spirit of the OZ.

"Yes, sir?"  
"Man of tin bound with princess of dark."  
"Are you sure you want to do that? The current queen is anything but good for the people."  
"Sure. Make happen."  
"Okay." _Yes, let's speak in caveman speak. I love going back to the Stone Age. _Aria thought sarcastically.

Aria's spirit slammed back into the emerald and it floated over to the sleeping couple and rested in the space where they weren't touching. She sighed. Whatever the OZ says, let it be done?

Aria let the Emerald's magic flow out in ribbons of power. The green tendrils of pure unlaced power entwined around the Tin Man and the Princess. It shone brightly then dimmed.

"The OZ has accepted the pair and it will be their duty to bring the realm to peace and bring evil leaders from their reign. I, Arabelle, have beared witness to this binding and will inform all parties when binding had completed. Let it be so." The magic dissolved into the two humans' bodies and they sat up in unison, letting go of one another. Then they both gasped as the pain hit them full force.

They fainted as the entwining of the souls took place. The Emerald light up contentedly at the promise of a good match. Although they didn't know it, Cain and DG were destined to meet. They were destined to fall in love; they were destined to be soul mates. And there was nothing that the Queen could do about it.

* * *

The Queen sat in her office with an attractive young man in front of her.

"And you think you're the best for my daughter?"  
"Yes, I am kind, thoughtful…"  
"Alright. You can marry her." The young man was startled and slightly confused. Shouldn't the mother have done a more thorough job on looking for the perfect mate for her daughter's happiness?

* * *

The next day DG and Cain were walking through the gardens when a young man came up to them. He took the princess' hand. Cain was overcome by a startling rage.

"Don't touch her." He growled.

"My apologies. My name is Prince Brian. Your mother has given me permission to marry you." He curtsied.  
"Do I get a choice?"  
"Of course. If you do not wish to marry, I will gracefully bow out. I mean no harm." He turned his attention to Cain. "Possessive, always touching female, growling…You're soul-mated."  
"We? What we?" DG asked. Cain groaned. She was tilting her head in the most adorable manner.

"Oh dear. It's serious." DG brought out the emerald and poked it. It shone.

"Yes?"

"What is this soul mated thingy?"  
"Well…." The emerald spoke.

"Yes?"  
"Well, when you were sleeping I got summoned. Which was annoying, by the way! I was sleeping. Ooh, new friend. Hi, I'm Arabelle, I am a spirit trapped inside this emerald. Is the weather nice?"  
"Aria! You're trapped in there."  
"Yes. You can unleash me after you reach a certain level in your magic. Listen this whole binding thing, not my idea. I don't like to force people into love. But…I did it anyways. The OZ summoned me and told me to bind you using a soul bond. And I did. Becauseeee….any idiot could see that you two are so _hot _for each other." And to that, both blushed. Brian motioned to the emerald and DG nodded and he picked it up.  
"Hello Arabelle."  
"Why hello! I haven't met a true gentleman in quite some time, where do you hail from?"  
"The northern waters. Near the Ice Palace."  
"I love it up there. I have only been a few times. Maybe when I get out of the emerald, we could go? As friends of course."  
"That would be most energizing."The emerald grew brighter as Aria became happier.

"Ahem. Tell me about this soul bind."  
"Okay well you are both empaths to each others feelings. You'll get closer to each other. Tell sob stories, i dont care. Just get closer. You'll be able to talk telepathically then. That is the best advantage to this union of the souls. You need to be trained, Cain, in the magic's. DG is practically an expert. You'll get a portion of magic that has been hiding in your soul for the longest time. You see, the soul bind doesn't just happen overnight. You were born a certain way and with a certain amount of magic that lay dormant. It will not be of any great magnitude, you could do a romantic gesture or stop bleeding, little things. It was only meant to level out the magic between you. Your personalities will not change at all. You'll still be the same." DG and Cain were just stunned they looked at each other and felt a burning need to embrace. Cain hugged her, although his body was screaming to take her and make her his.

"You go get acquainted with each other. We leave for Finaqua in a few hours. I want to talk to Brian."

"Okay." Cain brought her back up to their room and she sat on the couch, thinking about the newest revelations.

"Deeg?"  
"Are you okay with this?" She asked looking up at him with those deep blue eyes.  
"Yes." He admitted. On a molecular level, he knew that he wasn't right for Adora. She didn't belong to him, she belonged to Zero, and she was in love with him not Wyatt.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "Because I know you just lost Adora and just got your son back. Don't you want to wait a little while before rushing into anything?"  
"Darlin' you are the most considerate person I've ever known." He said with open affection. He leaned down and kissed her lightly. She tilted her head up, deepening the kiss almost immediately. He was sweet and his lips were warm and smooth. His rough, calloused hands were lovingly caressing her face. He tasted purely Wyatt; it should be bottled and sold to lonely women everywhere.

Wyatt felt the same way. He smiled against her soft warm lips and tasted her. She tasted sweet but not overly sweet. He couldn't get enough of her taste.

It wasn't like kissing Adora. Kissing Adora was calming and he felt loved. Wyatt stopped thinking of his dead wife, he had a beautiful woman in his arms that was passionately kissing him and wasn't about to stop. Well she wasn't in his arms yet. He gently pulled her by the arms into a standing position. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he wrapped his around her small body.

It felt like heaven.


	9. Jeb Cain

**Here is the next chapter of Darkness is Life in the OZ. I would just like to say that I am deeply sorry for not posting sooner. I had brain blockage for the creative ideas and I got a way to go with this and I lost my notes and GAH!! Hair rippage. lol. Well i had family issues, I got sick alot (Germs just like me I guess?) and my computer crashed! I lost EVERYTHING!!! I will try and update and finish this ASAP!! **

**Anyways, Please review. I have seven on alert when this story sends out another chapter and I would like some feedback, some ideas perhaps? I like reviews. Thank you and have fun reading.  
**

* * *

One thing that DG soon discovered was that Wyatt Cain, Tin Man, was a great kisser. He knew just the right pressure to apply and how to angle his head. Currently, he had his calloused palms on either side of her face and was rubbing her cheekbones with the tips of his fingers, them moving lovingly against the flushed skin. She was rubbing the back of his neck with her nails and they were in the same position that was adopted a while ago, their bodies melted with each other. She inhaled through her nose and she sighed contentedly, pressing herself more into his embrace. He pulled back and placed some lingering kisses on her lips. Her eyes opened and he grinned as she blinked stunned at him. He watched her pink tongue as it wet her now swollen lips.

"Hey." She said with an unknown sexual grace that wasn't helping the situation. He didn't know where this underlying animalistic possessiveness came from. But he liked it. He also like that it was mutual for her.

"Hey."

"You better not do that to anyone else." She threatened weakly. He kissed her again and she moaned in pleasure almost immediately.

"Wouldn't think of touching another girl, sweetheart." He purred. She groaned, tilting her head back. He pressed kisses along her neck, savoring her taste and the sounds that she made when he did this. "I love the sounds you make." He was answered by a guttural moan. He lightly bit her neck and sucked on the same spot, forming a love bite on her neck, where every one could see. It was a strong of primal possessiveness that had once again taken over his conscience. He didn't mind the intrusion.

Then there was a knock on the door. Cain stepped away from DG with a lingering kiss on the cheek and opened the door. Jeb Cain walked through the door. He bowed to the princess.

"Can I talk to the Princess for a moment, Dad?"

"Yeah, I have to talk to Glitch about something."

"Ooh! CAIN!"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Ask him if he has a history on Gale magic, pretty please?"

"Okay, Darlin'." He said affectionately. Well at least she knew that this 'relationship' or whatever 'this' was wasn't going to be a dirty little secret. He was going to be very open with his affection for the little princess. She was glad. She had enough secret relationships to last her a lifetime. And all she had was one. When she was in high school, she dated a junior when she was a freshman. She had always attracted older men, for some reason. Well he wanted to keep it a secret because dating a freshman? Not cool. So she agreed kept it secret, snuck kisses (that were dull in comparison to Wyatt), and eventually she caught his necking with a junior girl. Last she heard they were happily married with kids. Ironic how the only way that they found happiness was by him cheating on her. She dropped the relationship; he wasn't even going to tell her that the girl was going to be his fiancé at the end of senior year.

"He really cares about you." DG commented. Jeb looked relieved that she had started the conversation after his father had left for Glitch's room. Jeb looked very alike his mother, or so she had been told.

"I could say the same for you." DG laughed. She nodded. Then she turned her head just right and he saw the hickey that lay on her neck. He stifled a laugh. "Princess." Her head turned towards him and he smiled at her. "You have a love mark on your neck." She whipped her head around and she marched over to a mirror and examined her mark.

"You might not have a father anymore Jeb." She growled. He laughed.

"And why is that?"

"Because I am going to kill him." His small laugh turned into a full blown laugh.

"Someone could take that as a serious threat. It's a crime to assault a Tin Man. But I won't say anything. Not just because you're going to be his girl. You know that man would do anything for you." He watched as her smile turned affectionate. It was unconscious that she did it. But Jeb wanted to make sure that she was for real in the affection of his father figure.

"I know." She said contentedly.

"Listen DG…"

"You want to check me out to make sure that I am not using your father for anything besides love? Kinda figured it out."

"Damn. I was trying to be sneaky."

"Please we do _not _need another Wyatt Cain running about terrifying people," she smiled at him. He liked DG, how could anyone not like her? She was funny, nice, understanding, tough enough to deal with his father on a daily basis and not even Adora could do that and she was his wife. His mother, Jeb's world became cold. He didn't like his mother. He knew that his mother was cheating on her husband and he was Zero's son for a long time. He hated him just as much as his father did. It wasn't fair that such good people have such horrid ancestry. But luckily for Jeb, his father was Cain. There was no getting around that. He was a great soldier just like the Tin Man and he was smart, cunning and extremely helpful to DG and anyone who knew her. They connected on a level that was unheard of. They were young people who were trapped in a war zone and all they wanted was some peace.

But all Jeb wanted was for his father to be happy. His father was mostly mistaken as a big brother because they were only eight or nine years apart in age, but he looked up to Wyatt. He was an exceptionally good role model to look up to and Adora wasn't. Plain and simple. She was an alcoholic and if Wyatt wasn't around, she'd have hit Jeb. But he was there and after he was locked up in that tin suit, he fled his mother's keep-he was after all fourteen. He said his name was Cain and gained instant access to the Resistance Camp. He quickly rose among the ranks for his cleverness and never uttered his true parentage. He was revered as a military leader and had even been locked in a tin suit. He thought that he was going to go insane between that time. All that kept replaying in his head was what his mother said after Wyatt got locked in the suit. He couldn't hear of course, because they were far enough away but she had said that 'he'd gotten her in trouble again' and it was her mouth that had gotten her killed. Of course, Zero killed the man who killed the woman he 'loved' as if a thing like him could love.

His father put a bullet through his head. And Jeb was never happier when he was parentless. Technically, he was Cain's son. His maternal grandfather made sure of that when Adora and Wyatt married. He was a good man. All Jeb wanted for his father was happiness. He saw how his father lit up when he saw the young princess. He could hide and she could deny it until the cows came home, but the truth was obviously there. They had an attraction of epic proportions. They were so alike, so kind, self-sacrificing. And it wasn't completely one sided either. DG positively glowed when she was near the Tin Man. She was glowing now. Like a star. And he knew what had transpired here. They had been kissing, not quite admitting the feelings that were always there, but getting there. DG and Wyatt were a kind of patient person and they had both waited a long time to find the perfect person to spend the rest of their lives with and they weren't about to ruin it by rushing into a relationship. Kissing was harmless and let the other person know in an indiscreet way that they were interested.

But DG was so obviously interested it was ridiculous. Yes, DG would be the perfect match for his father. No doubt about it. None what so ever.


End file.
